When I look back on my recent VP Judgment reviews Samsung products, I can’t feel a little annoyed about how their products constantly impress me (although it’s not like I’m actively trying to hate them).
To be honest, there are honest reactions after I kissed at Apple for so long, I admit. There are still aspects of iOS that I prefer over Android, but overall, my transition wasn’t too bumpy.
With Samsung Galaxy A72 in hand for this review, I was willing to evaluate it a little sharper, as I now had some relevant experience to support it.
Pretty simple, but pretty much nonetheless
I got the Awesome Violet variant which is pretty great to look at, but when it comes to color options, you don’t really get anything new.
It has a plastic back that sounds a bit cheap and hollow when you tap it, but in the hands it gives off a simple, matte feel that I like.
Everyone who held the phone also praised how light it was and liked how the impact on the camera was designed to be less obvious. I think this design is as good for Samsung’s bumps as I am so far I liked it those from the S series this year as well.
The A72 has a decent-sized screen that actually seems a little too big for my taste (judging by how easily I can type on it with one hand), but that meant it was comfortable for fun purposes.
Its 6.7-inch screen thankfully drops a curved screen for less accidental touches, and its FHD + Super AMOLED screen is very lively. Do I dare say it looks even better than the screen of my premium S20? (Yes.)
A solid set of cameras
We’ve known for some time that Samsung has improved the quality of the cameras on its A-Series phones. I’ve never tested the A-Series before, so I won’t pretend to have first-hand experience when I see differences in the camera over last year’s A71 compared to the A72.
All in all, its 4 lenses captured the details decently well, but if I’m critical, the macro lens left more to be desired in terms of sharpness. But I also wondered in what scenario would I ever need a camera for macro photography?
Wide, telephoto and ultra-wide lenses have proven decent in my books, as I don’t have very high expectations of taking photos by phone anyway. I guess this time I was more impressed by the fact that the A72 is an economical phone with 30x Space Zoom.
With Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) I could actually discern some details in the pictures. While it’s not as funny as the 100x space zoom, again, I can’t think of a natural scenario in which to use it. It allows me to see the silhouettes quite nicely, but I still won’t rely on it to help me pinpoint the details of the item.
The only thing I noticed happening was that the camera would sometimes have trouble focusing while trying to capture an image. I haven’t experienced this with the older S20 yet, so I’m not sure what I did to trigger the blur.
Good performance with one minor drawback
In terms of performance, its battery life with average use of social media apps doesn’t disappoint, although I haven’t had a single Samsung phone (for reviews) that hasn’t had better results in the area.
This phone has a 5,000 mAh battery, so be sure it can last at least 2 days before you need a quick charge with a 25W fast charge (the job ends in 1 hour).
I mentioned earlier that the screen is nice, however, every now and then I would notice stuttering in the receptivity of the touch screen. I know such a first world problem. In general, it shouldn’t be a big deal, but when you use the phone often, the “slowness” comes to you after a while.
My game today for testing the performance of the phone is Genshin Impact, which is quite a difficult game to install and run. The A72 performed better than expected at the lowest to medium settings (which the game warned to overclock the phone).
A bit of heat later accumulated on the back of the phone from the cameras, but if you’re a mobile player, that’s no surprise. This phone doesn’t end up being sold as a toy, so it’s forgivable.
Verdict
If you had added the A72 to me without telling me what it was, I would not have easily suspected that it was made as a phone more affordable for the budget.
Sure, a few hiccups here and there and mostly a plastic back can give some hints, but it’s still solid enough to be a strong candidate if I’m looking for a new phone.
For a starting price of 1,899 RM, I really can’t complain. Oh, I have to mention one more thing. Coming from an S20 user, can I just say thank you kindness Samsung has stepped up its fingerprint sensor game on screen?
Once I return this unit, I will have to live with the fact that the S20 sensor will not light up under my fingertip for faster unlocking, and continue to see “Fingerprint does not match” 20 times before my phone is unlocked.
| Pros | Cons |
| Lively and sharp display | May be delayed in touch screen receptivity (sometimes stuttering) |
| Good camera performance for a cheap phone | |
| Bigger and better battery |
VP Judgment is a series in which we personally test products, services, fashions and applications. Want to suggest something else to try? Leave a comment here or send a suggestion to our Facebook page.
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